title: Positive association between conflicts of interest and reporting of positive results in randomized clinical trials in dentistry.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The relationship between industry funding and study results has been explored widely in medicine but not in dentistry. The authors aimed to assess the relationship between conflicts of interest (COIs) and study results.
  
  
  METHODS
  The authors assessed all randomized clinical trials (RCTs) published between July 2010 and June 2012 in the 10 dental journals with the highest impact factors in dentistry. The authors used three definitions of COI and explored their associations with positive study results.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Depending on the definition of COI, the odds ratio for reporting positive results varied between 2.40 (95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.16-5.13) and 9.19 (95 percent CI, 1.71-170.64). The authors found no association between positive study results and journal of publication or area of practice.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  RCTs in which authors have some type of COI are more likely to have results that support the intervention being assessed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  When reviewing the results of RCTs, clinicians need to be aware of the association between reporting positive study results and the type of COI disclosure and be even more careful when critically appraising and applying their results.
authors.affiliation: Dr. Brignardello-Petersen is a lecturer, Faculty of Dentistry, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, and a PhD student, Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto. Address reprint requests to Dr. Brignardello-Petersen at Sergio Livingstone Pohlhammer 943, Independencia, Santiago, Chile, rominabp@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Romina
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Brignardello-Petersen
authors.forename: Alonso
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Carrasco-Labra
authors.forename: Nicolás
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yanine
authors.forename: Carolina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ulloa
authors.forename: Ignacio
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Araya
authors.forename: Fernanda
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pintor
authors.forename: Julio
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Villanueva
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cornejo-Ovalle
mesh_terms: D016265:Conflict of Interest; D018865:Dental Research / Q000941:ethics* / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic / Q000941:ethics* / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012108:Research Personnel / Q000941:ethics / Q000592:standards; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: Conflict of interest; evidence-based dentistry; randomized clinical trials